Parkland cited with inadequately investigating patient deaths

State regulators have again cited Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas with patient safety violations, this time related to an alleged failure to adequately investigate two deaths. The state health department is proposing a $1,950 fine.

Parkland failed to perform a legally required investigation of a death involving a cardiac patient who experienced rapid heartbeat and low blood pressure when injected with metoprolol, a drug used to treat high blood pressure, according to the Texas Department of Health Services.

The hospital also failed to sufficiently investigate another death involving a pregnant woman who died as doctors prepared for a possible cesarean section, according to the Department of State Health Services. Both deaths occurred this summer.

The state health department also cited the public hospital with a third case involving a blood transfusion complication.

Parkland spokeswoman April Foran issued a statement Tuesday afternoon acknowledging the violations. The findings resulted from issues Parkland self-reported to the state, the statement says.

“Parkland has received three findings of violations from the Texas Department of State Health Services that will cost the hospital $650 each,” the hospital’s statement says. “One violation was for a documentation error. The other two were in response to Parkland’s failure to follow its policy regarding investigations of adverse events. Neither issue put any patient at clinical risk.”

Since summer, when the deaths occurred, Parkland has redesigned its Quality and Patient Safety Department to streamline and speed its reporting of adverse events to the state, the hospital’s statement says. In addition, Parkland’s nursing department has implemented corrective education to ensure that all reports are completed correctly in the future, the statement says.

Last year, highly critical state and federal inspections of Parkland faulted the hospital for severe patient safety deficiencies that put its Medicare and Medicaid funding at risk. Parkland is operating under a "corrective action plan," which lists improvements the the hospital must make in order to continue to receive hundreds of millions of dollars annually in Medicare and Medicaid.

The hospital has until April to fix hundreds of patient safety and other quality-of-care problems or lose the funding and face possible closure. The hospital has said it's on track to make those changes.

In August, the Texas Department of Health Services fined Parkland $1 million — the largest fine ever levied against a Texas hospital.